The academy stood like a fortress in the sky, nestled into the sheer cliffs of Mount Eryndor. It was but a dark outline sketched against the mountainside, a jagged formation that was found only in stories for the ordinary beings who had no magical powers. However, for those with exceptional abilities, it was home, a dangerous home where one's skills could be sharpened, restrained, or — heaven forbid — imprisoned, in case of a failure. It was, in fact, an institution of learning that was centuries old – widely accepted as a school and a rampart conceptualized by the first Convergence Council. The original planners of Eryndor were elementalists of outstanding powers, each being a master of one particular affinity and having built something unique and priceless in the walls of the given academy. They had even placed life – bound rune-stones on the very building creating certain structures that could, amplify or diminish, and even suppress force. Their intentions were bright, however their techniques were clandestine, as through the years the institute degenerates into a house of wraiths with its real goal hidden beneath layers and layers of shrouds. Several generations of aged scholars would have, if they were still able to, looked at the Hall Hinge, precisely the fifty-third layer which contained the Convergence Council.
The Council of Convergence was established at Eryndor, as a seedbed for the rare and peculiar elemental mvp. In this world, mostly every human had some very slight propensity to fire, water, earth or air, however the students selected for Eryndor Academy were rather special. It was the case because their powers simply defied the principles of magic existing in nature. Some of them could control darkness and manipulate it into images that made no sense. Others were one with lightning and in their veins ran electricity. While the rarest of all, some had within them two elements that worked against one another but were a combination of extremes.
The council proclaimed that only persons possessing unique gifts could gain entrance into the academy but only those with the oldest of mastery could go for graduation. Yet even the council was not prepared for the evil that was hidden in the depth of their students' power, nor for the strategies some students were willing to implement to fully exploit their powers. It is said that the academy has always been cursed. The Curse of Convergence speaks of an impending doom on the academy if a student becomes too powerful or if the student's influence of an element exceeds that of what is considered safe. Thus, over time the Convergence Council imposed unfair limitations to prevent such eventualities, or so was the explanation given to the students.
The halls of Eryndor were kept in check by regally standing, flanking blank-eyed soldiers, who were actually the statues that were infused with magic to scout the energy levels of the students. Magical devices known as Convergence Stones, which were situated on the interiors of the walls, contained magic that smothered any inappropriate energy focused within the walls. And there was one rule within each room:
Do not trust anybody, and do not enter the Rites without preparation.
The Elements of Eryndor
Eryndor Academy was further neatened into the four elemental houses and two less common affinity houses.
House of Stone: This house was for members with the power to control the earth and every element of the founding rocks, including stones, concrete, and minerals. Their dorms featured magnificent columns of marble and jade that had been magically tailored to the inhabitants. House of Stone students were known to remain grounded at all times but were considered to be inflexible, tough, and could not be bent to their will.
House of Flame: House Flame's roofs were embedded with a fire that enchanted houses of the fire soul within their chamber at all times. The students who studied in the House of Flame were known to have a warrior's mentality, sweet but short-tempered and intensely driven. Well, this was how students regarded themselves as who they were and even feared in other houses.
House of Tides: For the water-related abilities found in students of House Tides, are invariably associated with peace, calmness, and more of flexibility. Their house was also located close to the underground river which cut across the academy helping them remain calm, as kids always get calmer around their element.
House of Winds: House Winds had effortless speed and other related qualities and most members of this house were astute and sharp-minded. They were known to engage in daring escapades that included trespassing into some of the restricted places of the academy at night.
But with these primary houses also existed two other houses for matters that were simply beyond the ordinary.
House of Shadows: It was a breed of students who were very few and far between whose very existence was capable of controlling darkness. These students could use shadows, craft illusions, and in some instances were virtually able to turn themselves invisible. The House of Shadows was an enigma to the rest of the Houses, with students who could defy the boundaries of light and darkness and agitate the rest of the people.
House of Storms: This was probably the least common house of them all, House Storms was for those who did not possess powers that were considered within the realm of the natural elements. These students had the power of energy, controlling such forces as lightning and thunder. Their temperament was often erratic, their powers unstable and their feelings, much like the storms they wielded, were extreme.
The Rites of Convergence
Eryndor was more than a school; it was a testing ground. Annually, students were subjected to periods of testing known as the Rites of Convergence, a series of examinations aimed at assessing their control over their powers. But these were no ordinary tests. The Rites were a mixture of physical, psychological, and sorcery–related tasks that were meant to drive every individual to their extremes.
There was a saying that only the brutal stayed afloat after the Rites and that every Rite was made to bring out a particular element in the talents of the student. Fire students would have to endure infernos more intense than the sun, earth students would be buried alive in collapsing rocks, and shadow students would often find themselves in a space so deep no light could reach there.
But there was one Rite that was over all other rites, the Final Convergence. Only the elite and most obedient of students were permitted to even try it only and there was a more fearful statistic in the history of the academy records. Students who passed the Final Convergence often ended up missing cases. These records were not available to the public because the academy maintained that such individuals had moved on to higher education. Young men and women who were said to have 'graduated' from the academy were rumored to have been turned into a force through the students' bodies.
The Curse of Dual Affinity
While the majority of the students at Eryndor possessed only one affinity, once every few generations, a student would come bearing the weight of two elements. Such students were called "Convergents" and they were both a blessing and a bane; the two powers conflicted, leading to chaotic and oftentimes catastrophic outcomes. Convergents were few and far in between because for all of them, without exception, keeping the two affinities in check was an arduous task. One of them was given excessive attention, and hence the other became volatile leading to disarray.
The instructors of the academy kept a lookout on such students and some went as far as to say that the Convergents were being prepped for the Final Convergence, the ritual that needed their morsels of power for the last time. This was a claim that was refuted by the Convergence Council, but in Eryndor, all legends had some degree of reality.
This year, Eryndor has a new Convergent in its ranks. Rhea Frost was her name, and her combination of affinities—stone and shadow—was the most dangerous in the history of the academy. It was said that those who could manipulate shadow were capable of transcending the boundaries of worlds, while those who could tame stone commanded the very structure of Eryndor. Therefore, this coupling was a threat that could alter the order of the academy.
The students, as well as the council members, became agitated upon the news of Rhea's coming. A few were hostile towards her, a few were interested. But all of them observed. Such was the position of the Convergence Council that had called out Rhea to Eryndor. Surprisingly for them, they were ready to test if she was strong enough to endure the Rites if her strength was going to assist her with reaching the Final Convergence or utterly devour her.
Eryndor Academy was an institution where one's fidelity, bravery, and prowess were challenged from every angle. It was a place of secrets that floated in the air, in which students went missing, within which the Rites of Convergence reigned in dark clouds above the heads of every student.
This was the world that Rhea Frost walked into, not knowing that she was already tied to the fate of the academy. As she approached the gigantic gates for the very first time, the breeze seemed to have a quiet soothing sound, for the stones of Eryndor seemed to have known her capabilities and were in anticipation of who she would become.